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ARKANSAS. 




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PHII^AUEIiPIIIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1888. 



ARKANSAS, 



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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1888. 



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Copyright, 1888, by J. B. Lippincott Company, 




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ARKANSAS. 



Arkansas (formerly pron. Ai'^kansaw), a state of the 
American Uniou, is bounded on the N. by Missouri, on 
the E. by Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi, on the 
S. by Louisiana, and on the W. by Texas and the In- 
dian Territory. Area, 53,850 sq. m. — about that of 
England without Wales — of which some 800 sq. ra. is 
water-surface. The southern limit is the parallel of 30° 
N. lat, and the northern boundary for the most part is 
on the parallel of 36° 30'. The Mississippi River 
washes nearly all the eastern border of the state. The 
extreme east and west limits are respectively 89° 40' 
and 94° 42' W. long. Nearly all the country is well 
timbered. Along the eastern border of the state, for 
more than half its extent from the north, lies a strip of 
rich alluvial and swampy land, 60 miles in average 
breadth, and limited westward by Crowley's Ridge, a 
prominent feature of the country. A similar low and 
wet tract is traversed by the lower Arkansas River. 
The southern half of the state contains great areas of 
yellow and loamy land of Tertiary age, interspersed 
tiiinly with tracts of red clays and hills of iron-ore. 
West of the Crowley's Ridge region is a considerable 
breadth of gray silty prairies. In the west of the yel- 
low Tertiary loams are large patches of ' black prairie' 
of Cretaceous age. The west and central portions of 
the state form a broken hill-region of Tertiary origin.^ 



4 ARKANSAS. 

Great prairies of red loam and clay soil prevail in the 
W. and NW. Towards the north is the Ozark moun- 
tain-region, a broken country of high hills and ridges. 
The soils, though of extremely various character, are 
mostly good throughout the state. The coal-measures 
very extensively underlie the surface, and coal crops 
out at many points; but thus far it has not been much 
wrought. The quality of the Arkansas coal is reported 
to be excellent. Silver-bearing galena and zinc appear 
to be abundant, and iron-ores exist in vast amounts. 
The villages of Hot Springs in Garland county, and 
Eureka Springs in the NW. are celebrated health-resorts. 
The novaculite, or hone-stone, of this state is extensively 
wrought and exported. The Mississippi, Arkansas, 
Red, White, St. Francis, Ouachita, and other navigable 
rivers afford excellent facilities for the cheap transporta- 
tion of goods. In the eastern alluvial region, especially 
towards the north, occur several large but shallow lakes, 
which were formed during the great earthquakes of 
1811. 

Agriculture is the leading pursuit in Arkansas, and 
cotton is the great staple of production. Maize is also 
very largely produced, and considerable quantities of 
oats and wheat are harvested. Livestock, wool, tobacco, 
pork, and dairy products are marketed, and their pro- 
duction is receiving a rapid extension. Much attention 
is also given to fruit culture. 

The recent development of the railway system of the 
state has given far greater variety and enterprise to the 
agriculture of Arkansas than it had under the old sys- 
tem of slave labour, when cotton, maize, and pork were 
almost the sole articles of production. Arkansas is still 



ARKANSAS. 5 

one of the leading states in cotton production, and it is 
asserted that if all the cotton-lands were worked to any- 
thing near their full capacity, this state might furnish as 
much of this staple as is now raised in the whole United 
States. There are still very large areas of undeveloped 
government land, and excellent improved lands can be 
purchased at low rates. Although malarial fevers and 
severe heat are to be encountered in the marshy and flat 
alluvial districts, the larger portion of the country has 
an agreeable and healthful climate, and few parts of the- 
republic offer greater natural attractions to the immi- 
grant. At Washington, in the NW. of the state, the 
mean annual temperature is over 61°, and the annual 
rainfall 54*5 inches; at Fort Smith, in the W., the 
rainfall is 40*36 inches. The extensive forests of Ar- 
kansas are becoming a source of wealth. Hard woods 
prevail north of the Arkansas Riv^er, cypress swamps 
cover a great part of the eastern alluvial districts, and 
in the south there are extensive areas covered with ])ine. 
In quality, variety, and accessibility, the timber of this 
state is hardly surpassed. Great attention has latterly 
been given to the black walnut timber of Arkansas, 
which is extensively used l)y cabinetmakers. Shingles, 
staves, and rough lumber are largely siiipped. The 
manufacturing interests of this state (apart from the 
sawing of lumber and kindred operations) are for the 
most part little developed. Valuable water-power exists 
in the hilly and mountainous districts, but it is thus far 
not extensively utilised. Mills for the extracttion of 
cotton-seed oil find profitable employment. The min- 
eral resources of the state are believed to be very large, 
but they have been but little utilised. Lying outside 



Q ARKANSAS. 

the great currents of immigration, Arkansas has, until 
very recent years, preserved to a remarkable degree the 
character of a frontier country. Even the large extent 
of river navigation for a long time served to hinder the 
development of the country, since it discouraged the 
construction of railways, and as a consequence, great 
tracts of excellent land lying at a distance from the 
large streams are even now very thinly peopled. The 
old system of slave labour and of large holdings of 
land was not favourable to rapid material development. 
This region formed a part of the French colony of 
Louisiana, and was purchased, together with the rest of 
that colony, by the United States in 1803. The earliest 
French settlement was made at Arkansas Post in 1685. 
Arkansas was organized as a territory in 1819, and be- 
came a state in 1836. An ordinance of secession was 
passed by a state convention in 1861, and during the 
war which followed, this state was the scene of several 
active and important campaigns. 

Public education has in recent years received much 
attention. Much care has been bestowed in some sec- 
tions on the education of the freedmen and their chil- 
dren. Since 1880 there has been a large movement of 
coloured immigrants from the older states. The light, 
yet fertile soil, and the warm climate of Southern Ar- 
kansas, seem specially attractive to this class of settlers, 
and the movement has been greatly encouraged by the 
planters of that section. The white population is almost 
entirely composed of English-speaking people of Amer- 
ican birth. 

The principal towns are Little Rock, the state capital 
(pop. in 1880, 13,138) ; Hot Springs, a celebrated health- 



ARKANSAS. 7 

resort, with copious thermal springs ; Pine Bluff, Tex- 
arkana, Helena, Fort Smith, Eureka Springs, Arkadel- 
phia, &c. Population of Arkansas (1820) 14,255 ; 
(1850) 209,897; (1860) 435,450; (1880) 802,525, of 
whom 591,531 were of white race, and the remainder 
nearly all of African or mixed descent. 



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